Franchise Notes

Liberty Media President & CEO Greg Maffei yesterday said the Braves have turned out to be a “better investment than we might have originally anticipated." He added that the Braves’ success “contributes to making the team ‘the last thing we’ll divest.’” Maffei, when asked to explain some of the positive factors of the Braves investment, said that "changes to some of the team's TV rights arrangements are positive, and that the team's value continues to increase" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 5/8).

DULL BLADES: In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan notes interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston was named permanent coach on Tuesday, and he is “the perfect choice” because he is “no threat” to GM Darcy Regier. Rolston is “not well-connected” and is “indebted to Regier for handing him a head job without glowing credentials.” Naming Rolston coach “ensures the team’s insular nature.” There can be “no critical outside voice, no competing hockey vision.” By making Rolston “the prince of the realm, Regier attaches the crown more securely to his own head.” It is a “predictably uninspired move by a tough-talking outfit whose actions come off as strictly small time” (BUFFALO NEWS, 5/9).

SCALING UP: In Denver, Adrian Dater cites a source as saying that Avalanche Exec Advisor Joe Sakic “soon is expected to take on a larger role in the team's front office.” The former Avalanche captain “previously expressed ambitions to be more involved in the hockey operations side of the business, and a vacancy in the front office recently came about when Eric Lacroix resigned” as Dir of Hockey Operations. Sakic has “served as an executive adviser with the Avs the past two seasons." It is “unclear what Sakic's new job title will be” (DENVER POST, 5/9).